by Brown, TW
“Yes, well, this is your only offer,” I said, shrugging off all the other garbage. “You can join us, or we will ask you to pack up and leave.”
This was met with a loud chorus of laughter. The oaf standing in front of me even made a show of wiping his eyes as if he’d been brought to tears. Those around him followed suit with the laughter.
I took that moment to scan everything that I could. I was becoming almost certain that they did not have any women in the group; or at least not any that were allowed out and about. I shuddered inwardly at the thought of what might be going on behind their wall. On the other hand, I could also appreciate the work that had gone into securing their place. These guys were no strangers to construction. Their stuff was not simply pieced together. It looked sturdy and well built.
“Tell ya what, kid,” the man took a long look past me and licked his lips, “you leave the two younger bitches here and go back home and…well, I’ll let you go back home. How’s that sound?”
“You sure that is the way you want things?” I asked. “You don’t get another offer.”
The man took a step back and those who had come with him all drew an assortment of weapons including a very impressive looking pistol with a chrome-plated barrel that looked like a cannon bore.
A single puff of dust exploded about four or five feet to the left of the man who had been speaking. A split second later, I heard a muffled ‘pop’ that came from a suppressed rifle.
In the movies, there is a lot less blood from a gunshot than what actually happens. When the round exited the man’s right side, it blew out a pretty nasty gout of blood and…stuff. A second later, the sounds of gunfire came in a rush that was not too unlike popcorn in a microwave. There was a flurry, then a few stragglers, and then…silence.
Nothing moved for a few seconds as the smoke and dust began to settle. A few moans could be heard, one in particular from the man who had been running his mouth. I stepped over to him and kicked the handgun away that was just outside of the reach of his clutching fingers.
“I said one chance,” I whispered as I knelt beside the dying man. The stench of body odor and the mess in his pants was almost enough to gag me. I have always been lucky that I don’t get sick easy.
“Ffff…” he tried to speak, but instead only ended up vomiting a bunch of blood.
His face was a rictus of pain for a few seconds as he gagged on the thick, red liquid. Then, with his eyes closed, he began to smile. I was wondering if he might be seeing angels or something but quickly dismissed that based on the very little that I knew of him personally. If there was an afterlife, complete with Heaven and Hell, I seriously doubted that he sported the credentials to enter the former.
When his eyes popped open a second after his final rattling breath, I had my answer. His eyes were a pus yellow with dark squiggles running through them. Isn’t that always the case? The person making the biggest fuss is usually the one with the most to hide. I drew my blade and punched it into his eye before the rasping moan had barely made it past his lips.
“That was kind of fun,” Carol said as she walked over to the entrance to the La Grande Rendezvous RV Park and peeked inside. “Got a couple still crawling around over here.”
With that announcement, she disappeared from view. Seconds later the distinct sound of her machete came. I shuddered at the thought. I had just killed a zombie. Sure, I’d stood there as our folks put bullets in these guys, but I hadn’t actually killed a living person. I was not entirely sure that I could look down on some pathetic wretch who was gasping for his last breath and put a machete in his skull.
“You did great, Billy,” Jake’s voice sounded from behind me.
I turned to see the “second” team coming out from the brush and down a nearby slope. Our group had intentionally walked the roundabout way at a slow pace to give Jake and his team enough time to move into position.
I reached into my back pocket and pulled out the bright red handkerchief that I was supposed to show if all was good. I was supposed to keep it in my hand or tuck it in my shirt if things continued to go well. Of course, with these guys, I’d never even had to think about pulling it out. When they put their hands on their weapons, they basically signed their death warrant…signed, sealed, and delivered.
“These guys were real scum bags,” I said as I wiped off my blade.
“They met the end that they deserved,” Erik chimed in. I noticed that he was drifting towards the entrance to the walled RV park.
“Looks like we might have some salvageable stuff here,” Jake muttered as he walked past and up to the first trailer inside the open gate.
“I have a suggestion,” Erik scooted past me to catch Jake. He had a look on his face as he spoke to the man’s back. I still could not read it, but it was like he was experiencing some sort of Nirvana. “Perhaps we build upon this foundation and make it a fall back location…sort of like our city’s panic room. We might want to consider a few places within whatever walls that we construct once we take the entire city. I understand that you had a fallback location at your last camp, but if the possibility does not exist that we could run for it to some remote location, perhaps having little super-fortresses within our grounds might be worth investigating.”
“Bring it to the next meeting…What was your name again?” Jake scratched his head with an over-dramatic look of confusion on his face. It was a crock. He knew Erik’s name, he was just trying to entrench the idea that he was a dimwitted hillbilly to this kid for some reason.
Erik smiled and trotted in to help Carol. I did not like the vibe that he was giving off. It was sort of like the kid who starts off okay in the scary movie…until he turns into the chainsaw wielding lunatic bent on killing everybody who ever “did him wrong” when he was little.
Jake glanced Erik’s way and shook his head. In a low voice he said, “You keep your eyes on that little weirdo. He creeps me out.”
I nodded. “I am heading in to help search the place. I didn’t see any women, so I am actually a bit worried about what we might find inside.”
“That is only half of your problem,” Jake said and waved a young man over who was standing against a tree with possibly the largest sword strapped to his back that I had ever seen in my life. This thing stuck up over his left shoulder and hung all the way down to his knees.
“Yes, sir?” the man said in a voice that was barely above a whisper.
“Lauren, tell Billy here what you told me when we were scouting up on the hill.”
“At least three of those trailers are housing meth labs,” Lauren said.
“How do you know?” I asked.
“The stuff they got stacked out back for one.”
“What stuff?”
“Cases of matches and gallon bottles of iodine tincture,” Lauren had a drawl that was deeper and even more relaxed than the one Jake affected.
I didn’t know anything about meth; not the use or the making of it. I’d heard stories, which probably explained the missing teeth. I was also even more impressed with his ability to be a fat slob. Not so much the slob part, but this guy had maintained his gut through meth and a zombie apocalypse. That was dedication.
“When we go in and search, it would be best to absolutely avoid the trailers housing meth labs,” Lauren added.
And with that, we headed in after pairing up. Somehow, I ended up with Granny Rambo. I think I saw Jake snicker as we went off on our individual searches.
“You did good facing down that jerk,” Carol said as we climbed the steps to the first trailer.
“Thanks.” I really wasn’t good with taking compliments. They embarrassed the hell out of me. Just slap me on the shoulder or the butt and say “good game” and I’m fine…really.
“I had a grandson about your age.”
Carol was speaking, but I wasn’t sure that it was really intended for me. There was a quality to her voice that made her sound far away, like she was visiting someplace else in her mind. I felt sorry for her, but th
is was not the time or the place for that sort of thing.
“Hey, I need you with me,” I said with a snap of my fingers to get her focus back to where it needed to be.
She shook her head and I was half-expecting her to snap at me. She actually looked a little embarrassed for a moment before pursing her lips tight and nodding.
I moved down the length of the trailer, stopping at each door and peeking inside. The place was a dump and there were porno magazines everywhere. I was really trying hard not to blush. It wasn’t that I hadn’t looked at a few my own self; but not with my grandmother staring over my shoulder.
We reached the rear of the trailer and what I assumed had to be the master bedroom. It was possibly one of the vilest things I have ever witnessed. There were graphic porn pages taped or stapled to every inch of space on the walls and the ceiling. But if that were the worst of it, I would have just been a bit mortified and called it good.
Secured to the bed was a naked female zombie. Her death had come from a bite on the left arm just above the elbow. She had a ball gag securely fastened in place to prevent any biting. Beside the bed was a huge cardboard box with cases of condoms. Scattered about the room was an assortment of lubricants.
“Oh, my…” was all Carol managed behind a muffled gag and then a sob.
I stepped forward and spiked the zombie, ending its torment. I think it was the first time that I had ever put a zombie down where I did so out of mercy. I turned and walked out of the room. If there was anything here worth salvaging, I didn’t care. This whole place made me feel filthy. And not just on the outside…my insides were twisted in knots and I wasn’t sure if the revulsion was stronger…or the anger.
Once I was outside again, I took a deep breath and tried to get my head back on straight. We still had four more trailers to search and I needed to be sharp. Screwing up out here was not something where you could just ask for a “do over” if things went poorly.
The second trailer was apparently not being lived in at the moment, but it was clear that it had been at some point. There was the same filthy conditions, the same porn scattered everywhere, but it looked like a lot of it had been picked through and there were even some blank spots on the walls where it was obvious that somebody had torn down whatever was once there.
As we entered the third trailer, I heard a noise. Right away, Carol was back in the game and had her weapon up to her shoulder. We could see down the hallway. The only door that was shut was the one at the end where the master bedroom would be. Still, we made a slow methodical approach, stopping at each open door with me down low and Carol high to give us both a clear field of fire if we needed it.
At last, we reached the door. I was down on my haunches and put my hand on the knob. Carol gave my back a gentle nudge with her knee to let me know that she was ready. I turned the knob and threw the door open, bringing my weapon up a heartbeat later.
On the bed was another female; only, this one was not dead…yet. Her body was covered with bruises and I had to look twice before I could make sense of the mess between her legs. There was really no other way to put it. Between the dried blood and what I had to assume was severe bruising, she was a wreck.
Carol pushed past me and grabbed the first thing she could to drape it over the girl’s middle. I took a step forward and her eyes opened. She saw me and began to thrash wildly, shaking her head back and forth.
“”Get out, Billy,” Carol said in a firm voice that had me leaving the room before I even realized what was going on.
The door shut in my face and I heard Carol speaking in hushed tones and a soothing voice. The girl, who I could really not even begin to guess an age of, was sobbing hysterically. The volume changed when Carol removed the gag, and for a moment I was tempted to rush back in. However, I understood that this poor woman had suffered unspeakable trauma. I went back to the front of the trailer and stepped outside to take a look around. A few heads had turned our way, but folks went right back to work checking out all the other trailers in the place. I considered moving to the next by myself, but realized that it would be just that sort of careless behavior that would get me killed.
“Okay, Billy,” Carol said, coming up behind me a few moments later, “she is not going anywhere. Let’s get the rest of our stuff checked and then I told her that I would come back for her.”
“You sure?”
“She isn’t going anywhere. I am not sure that she believes we are here to help, but at least she has settled down. I moved her off the bed and she is wrapped in blankets in the hallway. They are filthy, but it beats nothing.”
I shook my head. It still was not something that I could come to grips with in this new world. How could people turn in to such animals in such a relatively quick time? For crying out loud, it hadn’t even been a full year. These guys were despicable animals…and that was the best that I could say about them.
It made me wonder just what else was out there. This was only one case. There had to be others, and…there could be worse. I guess the glue that held our society together was pretty fragile stuff.
As we searched the remaining trailers, I could not help but let one corner of my mind consider the situation a bit more deeply. In those first days, I imagine most of the first responders suffered huge losses. So what did that leave?
Us.
I was never one to watch the news, but even in passing, it was always full of horrible stories about terrible people doing terrible things. With nobody around to protect the weak or the vulnerable…what did that leave?
Us.
As things unfolded, I imagine all the “good” guys took quite a beating saving others or risking their lives to help those around them. Meanwhile, those who preyed on others sat in the corners or in the dark. I bet they smiled as they heard the unanswered calls for help. Eventually, they realized that they could have free reign…nobody would come when their victims cried for help. Who did that leave now to ensure that monsters like that did not become the new order in this world?
Us.
As we cleared the final trailer and I spiked yet another female zombie strapped to a bed, my mind was made up. I had a role in this new world. I had a purpose. Somebody had to step forward and be a protector. Just making our base and securing a home for ourselves was not going to be good enough. Somebody needed to be out there finding those who were being victimized.
Me.
***
As we headed back to camp, I found myself walking beside Erik. I kept glancing at him out of the corner of my eye. He seemed like he was just out for an afternoon stroll. There was no indication on his face about the horrors that we had uncovered at that hellish trailer park.
In total, three female survivors were discovered. They were being kept together and all of the women that had come on this mission from the two teams were with them. One was unable to walk and a cart had been rigged for her to ride in. Another dozen female zombies had been discovered…as well as nine corpses.
Recently, I had been feeling pretty sorry for myself in the whole “lack of sex” department. Suddenly, I was no longer in a state of constant hormonal chaos. In fact, I wondered if I would be able to react if a woman were to stand before me naked right now. For the first time since I had discovered the physical joy of sex…I was not in the mood.
As for Erik, he looked…fine. Everybody else had a look of revulsion or fatigue on his or her face. Not Erik. He was simply walking along, every so often pausing to pick up a piece of debris that caught his eye, or maybe a rock that he would toss casually.
To put it mildly…he was creeping me out. I had to at least see what was up.
“How you doing, man?” I asked as casually as I could.
“I’ve never been on a run before,” he said with a twinge of what sounded like excitement in his voice. “That was amazing.”
“Pretty nasty scene at that trailer park.” I was hoping that I could find a train of thought to hop on.
“Yeah…you really faced th
at piece of crap down back there.” Erik’s voice became breathy.
“Just did what I had to do until the cavalry showed up with the big guns.”
“Yeah, but I bet you could have totally kicked his butt.”
“I’m just glad I didn’t have to.”
“But you sure didn’t have any problem sticking your knife in his face. I woulda let him suffer. Maybe chain him to a tree and spend eternity starving.”
Okay.
“I noticed that you were pretty fast yourself going in and making sure that everybody was down for the count,” I said, taking a new approach. There was something here that was not exactly right, and I wanted to find out what it might be before somebody got hurt.
“Yeah…those guys weren’t so tough with a knee blown out or a bullet in the gut. Just like any other bully…give ‘em a dose of their own medicine and they don’t much like it.”
Ah-ha!
“Get bullied much when you were younger?” I asked.
“Younger?” Erik laughed sardonically. “Have you taken a good look at me?”
I glanced at him, trying my best to really take him in. I would figure him to be in his twenties. I knew his type in school. Really smart, but probably socially awkward. Not that all of the “geek” types were, just most of the ones that I knew.
I walked in silence with him for a bit longer. He seemed fine now. Still, I had to wonder how close to the edge he might be. I would be keeping my eye on him for a while. It was always a guy like Erik in the movies…they always turned into a lunatic and killed everybody off in the end. The last thing we needed was for him to go bonkers one day and open the gates to let in a herd.
By the time we got back to the walls, I was ready for a good celebration. It was just what everybody needed. It might have been announced as a celebration for the birth of Steven James Hobart, but I think that everybody was finding their own reason to cut loose.
It was almost a year ago that this nightmare began. Now, we are rebuilding. The first birth in our community is certainly cause for celebration, but it is also a reminder that, if life is to go on, we need to create a safe place for that to happen.